Sucklers sell to £2,600 at Ballymena

Suckler outfits were a strong trade at Ballymena Mart last Friday at the first sale of breeding stock since early March.

A total of 28 cow-and-calf pairings sold to a peak of £2,600 for a first calved Limousin heifer with a Limousin bull calf at foot.

This was followed by a first calving Charolais and bull calf which made £2,500.

Other stand-out lots saw two first-calving Limousins with calves at foot making £2,400, with another at £2,300. In-calf heifers sold to £1,275.

On the same day, the mart also held its first sale of dairy stock, which sold from £1,100 to a peak of £1,970.

Swatragh

Swatragh Mart also held its first sale of breeding cattle on Friday of last week. Again, buying demand far exceeded the numbers on offer with an excellent trade from start to finish.

Suckler outfits sold to a peak of £1,980 for a 2017-born Charolais and bull calf, with a big run from £1,600 to £1,800. In-calf heifers topped out at £1,700 for an April 2017-born Simmental animal due to a Limousin bull in early July.

A paper sent by DAERA officials to MLAs on the Stormont agriculture committee has highlighted that an ongoing review of operational protocols in local marts means that sales of breeding stock are now permitted. However, with the mart protocols making it clear that only mart staff and a limited number of pre-registered buyers can be present at a sale, it means that events that are likely to attract a large number of buyers to a ring generally can’t go ahead.

That includes most pedigree sales, although an individual mart can submit proposals to a Livestock Market Industry Stakeholder group for sales to take place on a case-by-case basis. One pedigree sale going ahead this week is the Limousin sale at Ballymena Mart this Saturday at 12 noon, where 26 bulls and 16 females are on offer. There is no judging, and buyers planning to attend are required to pre-register, with online live bidding also available.

Read more

Grass-fed beef: what does a PGI mean?

Newford update: breeding progress, cutting silage and weighing calves